Verzuz has become the new sought after medium for artists to share their music with fans. From our favorite classic R&B jams to more current hits, the Verzuz stage is the place to be on Apple TV and Instagram. Billboard decided to shed light on the rising phenomenon by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz by giving Verzuz a cover story that included looks form Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, John Legend, DMX, Snoop Dogg, Kirk Franklin, Alicia Keys, and more. Two people missing from the cover art were Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, and they weren't happy about their exclusion.
"I guess billboard is REALLY THAT GUY 🤔," Beenie Man tweeted. "When will DANCEHALL get it’s recognition???? Nuh matter how the impact, no matter the hard work, no matter how powerful the music is, them still try it everytime them get a chance. Ah time now man. #FixUp... Big up Swizz & Timz but this is what our genre face! Everybody fwd and tek piece and build up dem thing and then do everything to undermine the genre DANCEHALL where they got it from."
Swizz Beatz shared Billboard's cover art along with another that included the dancehall artists. "To our fans, while we are honored that Verzuz made the cover of Billboard, this would not have been possible without Beenie Man & Bounty Killer who set a big tone for our audience and represented for Jamaica. 🙏🏽🙏🏽," Swizz wrote in the caption to his digitally-altered photo. "Thank You Billboard for the acknowledgement but, we feel this version of the cover best represents THE VERZUZ EFFECT."
Meanwhile, the author of the article was quickly attacked online, and over on Twitter, she shared that she had nothing to do with the cover art. Check out her responses below.